NEWS IN DEPTH | SPECIAL REPORT Harnessing the power of VR


From virtual reality experiences to mixed reality tours, technology is changing the way visitors experience destinations. Seth Jackson, chief executive of Landmrk – a location-based experiences platform – talks hotspots and tracking footfall


Q: What does Landmrk do for clients? A: Landmrk enables you as a marketeer to directly engage your target audience and motivate them to move to a specific location. Think Pokémon GO!, but on a smaller scale. Users click on a link on their


mobile phones which opens a map. On that map are ‘hotspots’ that can be opened once the user navigates to the location. Content at these hotspots has ranged from vouchers and videos to selfie-filters.


Q: How can this help travel and tourism firms?


A: Mixed reality experiences help bring locations to life. They can give tourists a rich experience unlocking content from local famous musicians, artists or TV shows for example. Campaigns that motivate tourists to navigate to specific spots to unlock content through a single click puts locations on the map.


Fact box


As technology moves forward, the possibilities for new experiences widen


Q: How can augmented reality and mixed reality help manage footfall in busy destinations? A: The Landmrk platform can help identify key spots for tourists to visit. We ran a campaign with Visit Cornwall and kids’ TV show Pip Ahoy! over the summer to do just this. Landmrk has potential to move tourists towards lesser- known spots as well. This taps into the trend for authentic experiences. We also track footfall and tourist boards can use the data to plan for future projects.


Malcom Bell, Visit Cornwall chief executive, said: “We partnered with Landmrk as we saw a great opportunity to target the family market in an innovative and exciting new way. The trail gives a reason for children and families to explore some hotspots in Cornwall, while learning in the process.”


10 TravelGBI | October 2017


Q: Tell us more about these projects with tourist boards and attractions. A: We worked with Visit Cornwall to create a mixed reality treasure hunt for families. Based on Pip Ahoy! , the TV show for pre-school children, we dropped hotspots on an animated trail across the south west, allowing fans to unlock digital content.


We are also working on


‘replaced reality’ tours with Destination Bristol. By travelling to certain areas of


Bristol, our platform will allow a scaled activation of pre-recorded 360-degree virtual tours for large groups of tourists. This way, tourists can enjoy the


history and culture of Bristol at their leisure, rather than having to book guided tours and stick to strict timings.


Q: How can you measure the


return on investment for clients? A: ROI means different things for different clients. When we worked with Lynx, the goal was to distribute samples of Anthony Joshua’s limited-edition fragrance. With Tesco, we needed to


drive consumers to stores to try a new cider. Other ROIs could also include the number of people who have accessed the platform, the number of hits on clients’ websites and the commercial success of the product, event or brand being promoted.


Q: Which sector of the market would most likely use Landmrk services? A: We have designed campaigns that engage the over-50s as well as those for millennials.


The Cornwall campaign


resonated with young families. It is more the nature of the content, rather than the technology, that defines the audience.


Q: What other ideas do you have for working with travel and tourism clients? A: Location-based, content-led experiences can be used to create a huge variety of compelling interactions for tourists. As technology moves forward, the possibilities for new experiences widen.


Q: What other sectors does Landmrk work with? Can travel and tourism learn from other sectors? A: We have run projects in the entertainment industry, retail and FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) to help move 1.2 million people around the world. Working with such a creative


sector has made sure that our mixed reality campaigns are engaging so it is easy to see how this would transfer into the travel sector.


8


FIND OUT MORE landmrk.it


travelgbi.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28